Sylvania



(No Model.)

W. D.FORSYTH & E. T. BELL.

BOILER TUBE CLEANER.

PatntedJune 21, 1898.

VII/I) I: III,

NITED STATES WVILBER DAVID FORSYTH AND ENOS T. BELL, OF PITTSBURG, PENN- SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE UNION BOILER TUBE CLEANER COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BOILER-TUBE CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,951, dated June 21, 1898.

Application filed S te b r 17 1897. Serial No. 652,041. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILBERDAVID Fon- SYTH and ENOS T. BELL, citizens of .the United States, and residents of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Tube Cleaners; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side view of an implement or machine embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a medial longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is 'a detail view of one of the cutter-carrying arms and its outters. Fig. i is a detail view showing a modified form of same. Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the plates or corners,and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same with two of its cutter-carrying arms attached thereto.

This invention is designed to provide a device of improved character for cleaning the interior of pipes and tubes; and it consists in the novel construction and combination of parts,all as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates a shaft, shaft-section, or hub. B designates a series of plates or cutter-carriers,which are secured to said shaft or hub to rotate therewith and which are of trihedral pyramidal form, the letter Z) designating the inclined plane faces thereof. Each of said plates or carriers has upon its forward face and well out toward its peripheral edge a number of pins or studs C, which are perpendicular to the said face and therefore oblique with respect to the shaft A, being outwardly inclined with respect thereto. D designates cutter-carrying arms, one of which is journaled to each of the said pins or studs 0, and which are designed to swing outwardly in planes parallel with the planes of inclination of the faces of said plates. Each of said arms is slotted at its free end, as shown at F,

or wheels, as shown.

and has extending across such slot a pin or stud F, upon which is journaledohe or more rolling cutters Gr, which preferably consist of small peripherallytoothed or serrated disks When more than one of these cutters is journaled to each arm, they may all be placed in the same slot, or the arm may have a number of separate parallel slots for the several cutters, the several cutters in this case being separated from each other by the intervening slot-walls f. The play of the arms upon the pins or studs 0 is limited by means of suitable stops, such as the pins or studs 0, which engage slotsor cavities c in the plates or carriers B. Adjacent plates or carriers B are separated from each other byspaces or intervals of just suflicient extent to permit the free play of these arms, the rear faces of the plates being parallel with their forwardinclined faces, as shown. The rearmost plate or carrier, which need not be inclined except upon its forward face, is usually rigidly secured to the shaft or hub A, while the other plates are provided with keyways b, which engage a spline b of said shaftor hub, the

series being held in place by a lock-nut consisting of a cone-shaped nose or guide H and a forward plate H, both of which are screwed upon the end portion of the shaft or hub and which have opposite threads. The rear face of the forward plate is coned out, as shown at h, to receive the adjacent series of arms. By this arrangement any plate or carrier, with its series of arms and cutters, can be readily removed from the shaft or hub for repairs or other purposes. WVe do not, however, desire to limit ourselves to any particular means for securing these plates to the hub or shaft, nor do we wish to limit ourselves to the use of any particular number of such plates. Ne prefer to provide each plate with three of the swinging arms, but may employ any other suitable number. The number of rolling cutters carried by each arm, Whether one or more than one, depends upon the nature of the work.

The rear portion of the shaft may extend through a guide K, consisting of two or more spiders is, secured thereto and carrying a cylinder-shell, or said shaft may be directly connected to or form the journal of a suitable motor immediately behind the cutting devices and designed to be pushed through the pipes or tubes therewith. This motor may -be driven by steam, water, compressed air,

electricity, or any other suitable power, or said shaft or hub may be connected to or form a part of either a rigid or a flexible drivingshaft driven from an external source of power. The manner of and means for driving the shaft or hub, however, form no part of the invention and need not be specifically described or illustrated herein, suitable means for the purpose being well known in the art.

Constructed as above described the device is adapted for cleaning pipes and tubes of various kinds and is operated by introducing the nose of the cutter-head into the pipe or tube to be cleaned and forcing or pushing said head through the same under rapid rotation, the speed to be governed by the nature of the work. Under the force of rotation the arms D are thrown outwardly with their cutters against the scale or material to be removed. Inasmuch as these cutters come to their work at the angles determined by the degree of inclination of the cone-faces of the plates or carriers B we overcome any tendency which they might have to cut in certain lines or grooves so as to form shoulders, against which they would catch to the impediment of the work and injury to the device. This is an important feature of the invention. It will also be seen that owing to the rearward inclination of the faces of the plates B and the consequent rearward inclination of the cutter-carrying arms pivoted thereto the latter, with their cutters, instead of being forced or pushed through the tube are in a measure draggec through, and consequently are enabled to more readily pass any obstruction or shoulder which they may encounter; also, that as the cutter-carrying arms move outwardly on the inclined bearing and guiding faces of the plates they move backward or lengthwise in the tube with relation to the work, which gives them a better clearance and results in a better action and more efficient work. A small stream of water should be kept flowing through the pipe or tube to prevent clogging and undue heating of the cutters.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pipe or tube cleaner, the combination with a plate or carrier having a rearwardly-inclined face, of a cutter-carryin g arm pivoted to the said face to move in a plane parallel with the plane of inclination of said face, and one or more rotary cutters journaled to the free end portion of the said arm, substantially as specified.

2. In a pipe or tube cleaner, the combina-.

pivoted to the said stud to move in a plane parallel with the plane of inclination of the said face, and one or more cutter-wheels journaled to the free end portion of the said arm and working in a plane or planes parallel with the plane of movement of the said arms, sub stantially as specified.

3. In a pipe or tube cleaning device, the combination with a shaft or hub, of a plate or carrier secured thereto and adapted'to be moved through and rotated within the pipe or tube to be cleaned, said plate or carrier having an inclined face, a number of arms pivoted to the said plate or carrier upon its inclined face and capable of swinging outwardly in planes parallel with the plane of the inclination of the face to which they are pivoted, stops for limiting the movement of the said arms, and one or more toothed cutters journaledto the free end portion of each of the said arms, substantially as specified.

at. In a pipe or tube cleaning device, the combination with a suitable shaft or hub, of a number of pyramidal plates or carrying devices secured thereto at intervals and having parallel front and rear faces, one or more arms pivoted eccentrically to each of said plates or carriers and arranged to swing outwardly in planes parallel with the planes of the inclination of the said faces, and one or more rolling cutters jou-rnaled t0 the free end portion of each of the said arms, substantially as specified.

In a pipe or tube cleaning device, a pyramidal carrier-plate whose plane outer or forward faces are inclined rearwardly, a stud projecting perpendicularly from each of the said faces, and a cutter-carrying arm pivoted to each of the said 'studs to move in a plane parallel with the plane of the face which carries the stud, substantially as specified.

6. In a pipe ortube cleaning device, a shaft, a number of trihedral pyramidal plates secured thereto at short intervals from each other, cutter-carrying arms pivoted to the inclined faces of said plates to swing outwardly and rearwardly in the planes thereof, and cutters journaled to the free end portions of the said arms, the rear faces of the plates adjacent to said arms being of concave pyra1nidal form, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

XVILBER DAVID FORSYTII. ENOS T. BELL.

\Vitnesses:

S. A. MYnl-is, M. L. THOMPSON. 

